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veniently situated for that purpose, and the river forming a fine bay at high water. Much of the surrounding country formed part of the possessions of this magnificent establishment; of these an extensive sheet of water, at Sowley, occupying nearly 140 acres, and teeming with excellent fish, was considered the boundary; about two miles from hence is the Chapel and Farm of Park Grange, beautifully situated, and of handsome architecture, but much dilapidated; advancing towards the Monastery, are the ruins of the Barn and Chapel of St. Leonard, the principal agricultural establishment of the Monks, who were privileged to erect Chapels for the performance of divine service on all their farms or granges; this Barn was of vast dimensions, being 226 feet long, 77 wide, and more than 60 high; the Chapel was extremely beautiful, but its ruins cannot be expected to display much elegance, after having been long converted into a goose-house, and a hog-stye."

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BISHOP'S WALTHAM, 65 miles from London, and 10 from Southampton, gives name to the Hundred in which it is situated, and is a place of considerable trade, principally in malt and leather. The weekly Market is on Saturday, and four annual Fairs are held here. The Church is an ancient building, dedicated to St. Peter; and a Free School, and some minor charities, are established in this town, whose population, in 1821, was 2126 persons. On the south-west side of the town are thé ruins of the Bishop's Palace or Castle, built by Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen, but altered and enlarged by succeeding prelates, particularly by Bishop Wykeham, whose favourite residence it was, and who died here in 1404. It was demolished in the Civil War, but a portion of the Great Hall, and a fragment of one of the towers, still remain to attest its magnificence. The park is converted into a farm.

In this neighbourhood is WALTHAM CHASE, which, early in the last century, was the resort of a resolute band of deer-stealers, who were guilty of so many enormities that, in 1723, an Act of Parliament (called the Black Act, from the title of Waltham Blacks which these men had acquired by blacking their faces

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as a disguise) was passed expressly to put a stop to them; the penalties of this enactment were so numerous and sanguinary, that it was regarded with horror even by those persons to whom the "Blacks" were the most obnoxious; and Bishop Hoadley refused to re-stock the Chase with deer, observing, that “it had done mischief enough already."

BITTERN FARM, about a mile and a half from Southampton, is a peninsula formed by the winding of the river Itchin, and considered by Mr. Warner as "the undoubted site of the Roman Clausentum." In proof of this assertion he advances a variety of facts, drawn from the remains of walls still visible; the number of coins, from Claudius to Valens, found here; and its name, which, by a little ingenuity, is made to agree with its situation with respect to the river. Many other Roman remains have since been found here, (in forming a new road to Botley,) consisting of urns, pottery, inscribed stones, &c. of which a full account, by Sir Henry Englefield, is inserted in the second volume of the Hampshire Repository, an interesting work relative to the county.

BOLDRE, an ancient village, two miles from Lymington, is mentioned in Domesday Book, and its present Church is believed to have been erected about the period of that survey, as some portions of it afford specimens of early Norman architecture; it has, however, undergone considerable alterations. The Rev. W. Gilpin, author of several well-known works, on Forest Scenery, &c. was Rector of this parish during several years, and to his benevolence it is indebted for the foundation and endowment of two Schools, in which 20 boys and a like number of girls are educated; the Poor House, whose regulations are excellent, also owes its establishment, in a great measure, to his exertions. To defray the cost of erecting the School House, which was about £210, and to secure the annual sum necessary to defray the charges of tuition, Mr. Gilpin left the whole of his drawings and sketches, which were very numerous, and produced by auction more than the sum required. The population of this parish, in 1821, was 2180 persons.

At Baddesley, a hamlet of Boldre, was a Preceptory of Knights Templars, granted, on the suppression of that order, to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Near this place, about the middle of the last century, a singular phenomenon occurred, which excited great attention at the time, and the cause of which has never been explained: groans, similar to those of a person in extreme agony, were heard proceeding from an elm, which was a young, vigorous tree, and apparently quite sound. After terrifying the neighbourhood, and attracting great numbers of visitants from all parts of the country, during a period of about 20 months, a hole was bored in the trunk, by way of experiment, when the groans suddenly ceased. The tree was rooted up, and minutely inspected in every part, but no natural cause could be discovered to account for the "groans," nor was it suspected that any deception had been practised.

BOTLEY, a village, four miles from Bishop's Waltham, is situated on the river Hamble, which is navigable for boats to this place, and works a number of flour mills. The Church, a mile distant from the village, is an ancient building, with a curious font, The population, in 1821, was 690.

BROCKENHURST, in the New Forest, is four miles from Lymington, and has 813 inhabitants. The Church is of great antiquity, and is believed to be the same edifice mentioned in Domesday Book, although somewhat disguised by repairs and alterations. It stands on an artificial bank of earth, and is entered by a descent of several steps; the Font is exceedingly curious, and from its size appears to have been intended for baptism by immersion. In the Churchyard are several large and venerable trees. Watcombe House, situated in Brockenhurst Park, which contains some majestic oaks, "probably of an age long prior to the Conquest," was the residence, during three years, of the benevolent Mr. Howard, whose memory was long cherished by the poor inhabitants of the neighbourhood.

To the south-west of Brockenhurst, on Sway Common, are various tumuli or barrows, conjectured, by Mr. Warner, to cover the remains of the Britons

and Saxons slain in the various battles fought in this part of the country between the forces of Ambrosius and Cerdic. Nearer to Lymington are the remains of a Roman encampment, called Buckland Rings, which, however, forms a long square, and is situated on an eminence; its area is about 800 yards in circumference; and it is supposed to have been formed by Vespasian. Mr. Warner imagined he could trace "a cut or dock, connected with this work, which, although now choked up, was probably sufficiently deep, in Vespasian's time, to receive the largest of the Roman galleys." On the opposite side of the river is a high mount, on which a Specu lum, or Watch Tower, is supposed to have been placed, commanding a very extensive view.

BROUGHTON, a village, four miles from Stockbridge, with 821 inhabitants, is supposed to occupy the site of a Roman station called Brige by Antoninus; some antiquarians, however, contend that Horsebridge, a hamlet situated directly on the Roman road from Winchester to Old Sarum, is entitled to the honour; and a great deal of argument has been expended on both sides, without deciding the important question.

BURSLEDON, a small village five miles from Southampton, has long been famous for ship-building, and two vessels of 80 guns each, were built here as far back as the reign of William III; it has declined, however, of late years, in common with all places dependent on warlike operations, and its population, in 1821, was only 473 persons.

CALSHOT CASTLE, a small fortress constructed by Henry VIII on a tongue of land stretching nearly half across the Southampton Water, at a short distance from its mouth, possesses nothing interesting in its appearance, but the surrounding prospects are very fine; a garrison is still maintained here, although it is not considered defensible or important.

CHRISTCHURCH.

This town, sometimes called Christchurch Twyneham, is situated 99 miles from London, near the western

extremity of the county, and stands between the rivers Avon and Stour, whose waters unite below, and fall into the sea in Christchurch Bay. This place is very ancient; it is believed to be of Roman, if not of British origin, and is repeatedly mentioned under the Saxon princes, and in Domesday Book. A Castle is said to have been erected here by Edward the Elder, and the manor continued to be a royal demesne until granted by Henry I to Richard de Redvers, whose descendants inherited it until the time of Edward II. After this period it passed to various noble persons; and in the time of Henry VIII was the property of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, who was beheaded by that inhuman tyrant, and all her possessions confiscated. This estate appears to have remained with the crown; as, in the reign of James I, it was vested by that prince in trustees, for the use of his son Charles. It afterwards passed to the Earl of Clarendon; and in 1790 was purchased by the late Mr. Rose, so well known for his long adherence to the Ministry. Some small remains of the Castle, forming a part of the Keep, yet exist; the walls are ten feet thick, and appear to have enclosed an area of 28 feet by 24.

We have no record of the period when the Priory was founded; it is, however, certain that it existed previously to the Conquest, as its establishment then consisted of a Dean and twenty-four Canons. By William Rufus it was bestowed on Ralph Flambard, Bishop of Durham, who rebuilt the Church; but having seized a great part of the revenues of the Canons for this purpose, his extortions gave so much offence to the succeeding monarch that all his possessions were confiscated, and himself imprisoned in the Tower of London: he contrived to escape, and was afterwards restored to his bishopric; but the Priory was granted to Richard de Redvers, who bestowed it, with additional gifts and privileges, on its ancient inhabitants. These were increased and confirmed by his son, and the successive possessors of the manor; and at the Dissolution, the revenues of the Priory amounted to £544 68. John Draper, the last Prior, being then reported by the Commissioners, as " a very honest, conformable person," was treated with unusual liberality, had a large pension

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